Wigmore, St James Church
St James is a Grade I listed building, located beside Wigmore Castle in this attractive north Herefordshire village. The church is built on the site of an earlier Saxon building. One unusual feature is a piscina located high on the wall. This oddity is explained when you realize that the piscina was constructed to serve an altar in the medieval rood loft, which no longer exists.
Wigmore church has strong associations with the Mortimer family, who founded St James as a collegiate church. The oldest part of the building is the nave, which features late Saxon or early Norman herringbone stonework on the north wall. The churchyard cross is much restored, but it stands on an original 14th-century base.
A recent renovation has exposed more late Saxon stonework, estimated to have been added around 1050. This herringbone construction has been left exposed for visitors to see.
Herringbone stonework in the nave
The church interior
The timber porch
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